Machine for crushing and shredding sugar cane and like material



Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,828

F. MAXWELL MACHINE FOR CRUSHING AND SHREDDING SUGAR CANE AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed March 9, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 MAXWELLY INVENTOR? Amway Nov. '6, 1928. 1,690,828

F. MAXWELL MACHINE FOR CRUSHING AND SHREDDING SUGAR CANE AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed March 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FRANUs VII-(WELL JNVENTOR} By W 48 Attorney.

Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,828

F. MAXWELL men-ma ron GRUSHIING AND SHREDDING SUGAR CARE AND LIKE uATsn'fiL Filed March 9, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet FRANCE MAXWELL.

Q Nov. 6, 1928.

1,690,828 F. MAXWELL MACHINE Fon Ciwsnme AND SHREDDING sluGAa cm: m LIKE MATERIA L Filed Marci: 9, 1923 4 Sheets-5heet ".4

FRANCIS MAY-WELL.

lNVENTOR;

Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITED. STATES.

PATENT, oFFicia.

FRANCIS MAXWELL, or WALLINGTON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR CRUSHING AND SHREDDING SUGAR CANE AND LIKE MATERIAL.

Application filed March 9, 1923, Serial no; 623,847, and in Great Britain March 14, 1922.

carried out by distinct stands or units in the mill train. This involves, among other disadvantages, expense of construction and upkeep,-and use of extensive floor space.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to furnish a machine constituting a combined crusher and shredderfor sugar cane, comprising crushing and shredding rollers, all mounted in a single stand or unit.

Another object is to furnish a crushershredder having at least two crushing'rollers and one shredding roller. one of said crushing rollers cooperating with the other in the crushing ofthe cane under heavy pressure while rotating at slow speed, and said first named crushing roller cooperating also with thehigh speed shredding roller in a direct manner in the operation of shredding,wh1ch is performed almost simultaneously with the crushing, thatis to say, as the cane is issuing or discharging from the crushing rollers.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of treating sugar cane or the like by combing the same. while I issuing from but held by a pair of crushlng rollers. a A machine constructed in accordance with this invention may, forexample, comprise two crushing rollers and one shredding roller I mounted in the same stand or housing, with or without pressure mechanism acting on the crushing rollers, and on the shredding roller, and with or without a trash turner or scraper for directing the crushed cane from between the crushing rollers to pass between oneof said rollers and the shredding roller, and

means for driving the several rollers with the shredding roller rotatlng many t mes faster than the crushing rollers.

The rollers are mounted in housings so 7 that each roller may be easily withdrawn :in

' any known manner. Throughway bolts may or it may be providedwith deep circumterenbe provided to give strength to the machine I in accordance with the usual practice.

One of the pair of crushing rollersmay have a surface circumferentially grooved, or otherwise formed; for instance it may be provided with. zig-zag circumferential gutters, as described in British Patent17,53 l, or 1915,

' rollers.

subsequent mills.

.form of machine tial grooves for draining purposes. The other pressure roller is providedwithteeth or projectionsand grooves of any known forms. When the first named pressure roller is toothed it may mesh with. the teeth of the second pressure roller. The pressure rollers may be arranged vertically over each other, or inclined inthe manner usual for the feed and-top rollers of ordinaryycane crushing mills d e The surface'of the shredding roller is provided with teeth and maybe formed of discs assembled together on a shaft or formed in any known manner. The teeth may be formed on an otherwise smooth cylinder. or

upon circumferential grooves and projections on the cylmder. JIn the lattercase the pressure rollers would'be'formed wlth circumferential grooves and projections corresponding to those on the shredding roller, the trash turner being formed to operate with these 1 Power may be applied to eitherofthe pressure rollers and separately tothe shredding roller. i, V :9; H V The speeds of the two pressure rollers may be identicalor otherwise. Where differential speed-is desired, the same maybe obtained by driving oneroll from the other by toothed pinions having unequal numbers of teeth, or equal numbers of teeth may be used in conjunction with rolls of different diameters.

The shredding roller revolves atconsiderably higher speetl than. the pressurerollers and may be carried in water cooled bearings and may be driven. by. electrlc motor direct or through flexible couplings, or may be gear driven or belt driven from separate motive power or i'rom themotive power which drives the pressure rollers. '7 I H The higher speedroller is cased in to prevent shreds of disintegrated c ane from escaping otherwise than by deposit on theintermediate carrier which conveysfthe shreds to the The openingsfor passage of cane between rollers may be governed by adjusting means ofknown form, such as wedges actingupon the bearings. p

Referring to ings; V,

V Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of one this invention i I the accompanying drawmade in accordance with Fig. 2 is a rear elevation and Fig. 3 is a plan;

Fig. i is a side viewof an alternative form of machine made in accordance with this invention; v

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the form of machine shown in Fig. 4.. p a is a shaft. adapted to be driven by a engine or the like, 5 is a reduction gearing driven off the shaft 0, c c are crushing or pres sure rollers driven through the medium of thereduetion gearing b, d being pinions coupling the rollers 0,0 so {that they rotate at thesame speed in opposite directions. It is a system of magnifying pulleys which are also driven otl the shaft a, 7' is a shredding roller which is driven at high speed by the pulley system h, 7c, are wedge adjusting devices adapted to vary the distance between the crushing rollers c, 0, m are spring pressure maintaining devices adapted to slide a water cooled bearing a in which the shredding roller 7' is mounted, towards one of the crushing rollers, 0 is achute, p is a trough, q is a conveyor and r is a casing. It will be observed that, owing to the large reduction in speedbrought aboutby the reduction gearing 5 between the shaft 6 and the crushing rollers, and owing also to the considerable increase of speed obtained by inter-posing the system of magnifying pulleys it between the driving shaft and shredding roller, the latter will be rotated many times as fast as the crushing rollers, as required by the essential difference in function 'between a crushing roller, on the one hand, and a shredding roller, on the other hand. The crushing is performed by slow rolling under heavy pressure, sons to crush and cut the cane and thereby extract a considerable amount of juice from it, whereas the shredding is not to extract juice, but to cut or reduce the crushed cane or bagasse from the crusher to a fine fiber, and thus render it more responsive to the further extraction stages carriedout in the subsequentseries of mills.

In use sugar cane is passed down the chute 0 and is slowlydrawn between the rollers c, c and crushed. Passing out at the other side of the rollers the cane is torn into shreds by the high speed shredding roller j which is pressed against the crushed cane by the spring devicesm, one of the rollers 0 forming an. abutment. The casing r confines the shreds of cane and delivers them to the conveyor g. The trough 79 catches the juice that is expelled from the cane by the crushing rollers 0, '0.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the top crushing roller is vertically above the other, the lower crushing roller act-s as an abutment for thes'hredding roller, and the crushed cane after emerging from the crushing-rollerspasses directly in crushing the cane or other material, and cooperates with the shredding roller in shredding the cane or other material, the action of the high speed roller being in effect a combing action upon the material while still held In this form of machine the shredding roller is disposedin close proximity to the upper roller so that it will remove any of-the crushed cane adhering to the upper roller.

In Figs. i'and 5 the arrangement of parts is somewhat modified. The crushing rollers are inclined towards the chute and the cane after being crushed is guidedby a trash return plate 2? to between the upper crushing roller and the shredding roller, The spring devices on press the bearings a towards the upper roller until further movement is limited by nuts a. The opening between the shreddingroller and the'upper roller 0 can be varied by adjustment of the nuts 14, while should any foreign body be present the springs allow the shredding roller to move back momentarily.

With a machine made in accordance with this invention the cane is gripped firmly between the pressure rollers either or both of which are toothed whereby feedingis facilitated, at thesame time the pressure rollers crush and partly break thecane expressing a considerable amount of juice, while the shredding roller completes the disintegrating of the cane so that the hard outerrind is broken up finely so that the expression of juice by subsequent treatment is rendered eflicient. 'It is to be noted, however, that while the improvedmachine and. process are particularly useful in connection w ith the treatment ofsugar cane, I do not limit myself in no all aspects oftheinvention to its employment on or in connection with this particular material.

WVhat Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z y r i 1 1. In combination in apparatus for crushand shreddingsugar cane or the like, a pair of cooperating crushing rolls, means for applying and adjusting thepressurebetween said rolls, cooperating crushing teeth on the surface of said rolls, and a shredder roll disposed at the delivery side of said crushing rolls and adjacent to one of said crushing rolls tocooperate therewith in shredding the i i 9.- cane, and means for regulating and control ling the pressure between said shredder and cooperating crushingroll. i

'2. In combination in apparatus for crushing and shredding sugar cane or the like, a pair of cooperating crushing rolls, meansfor applying and adjusting the pressure between said rolls, means for rotating said crushing rolls at a relatively slow speed and a shredder roll disposed at the delivery side of said crushing rolls and adjacent to one of said crushing rolls, to cooperate therewith in shredding the cane means for regulating and controlling the pressure between said shredder and cooperating crusher roll, and means for rotating said shredder roll at a relatively high speed to act on the cane issuing from but held by the crushing rolls, thus effecting a differential shredding action between the shredder and its cooperating crushing roll.

3. In combination in apparatus for crushing and shredding sugar cane or the like, a pair of cooperating crushing rolls provided with roughened surfaces and so spaced as to flatten out the cane and break down its fibers, and a shredder roll disposed at the delivery side of said crushing rolls adjacent to one of said rolls, and having a relatively higher speed than the crushing rolls to shred the cane as broken down and relatively retarded by the grip of said crushing rolls, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

7 FRANCIS. MAXWELL. 

